Dublin, Ireland, Thursday, 7th February 2013: The rate of salary cuts among IT and project management professionals has slowed considerably, according to the results of a report into the IT employment market, released today by recruitment specialists, Clarion Resourcing.

The report, which sought the opinions of almost 3,000 private-sector IT and project management professionals, reveals that 31 per cent of employees have taken a salary cut in 2012, down from a high of 53 per cent in 2011.

Employers are continuing to push for greater productivity from staff. Over half of respondents (55 per cent) are expected to work longer than their contracted hours with one fifth putting in more than 10 hours extra per week. Seven per cent work as many as 16 hours per week, over and above stipulated terms.

This contrasts starkly with recent suggestions that the public sector will be asked by Government to work at least an additional four hours a fortnight, to retain existing levels of pay.

Employees are looking to long-term career development to secure their future with career progression cited by 33 per cent as marginally more important than salary or daily rate. 27 per cent of respondents continue to focus on current earning potential, citing salary or daily rate as their key motivation in changing roles.

Commenting on the results, Turlach McAlister, director with Clarion Resourcing said: “The results show a strong correlation with our experience of the market in 2012. From a candidate perspective, there are definite grounds for optimism in the coming year as strong demand persists in certain skill sets.”

It’s also very encouraging to learn that 56 per cent of respondents had more than one offer on the table when they accepted their most recent role. This compares very favourably to 39 per cent in 2011.”

Recruitment channels

The majority of job seekers (76 per cent) continue to use a combination of recruitment agencies and a direct employer approach when applying for roles. Over half or 51 per cent rated their recruitment agency experience as either excellent or very good while 46 per cent cited ‘word of mouth’ as similarly effective.

Career fairs and expos appear to have found their niche and are growing in popularity with 47 per cent of respondents confirming they have attended one or more in the last 12 months, compared to 31 per cent in 2011. Of these, almost one fifth (18 per cent) cited their effectiveness as excellent or very good compared to just seven per cent in 2011. However, a significant block of the market (59 per cent) continues to rate the effectiveness of these events as poor or very poor.

LinkedIn has proved to be a useful tool for job seekers with 53 per cent rating it as either excellent or very good in terms of its effectiveness in identifying new career opportunities. Traditional media such as press, radio and outdoor advertising does not rate highly as an effective search channel by our panel.

“Despite the growth in new media and internet-related job search tools, agencies remain a critical contributor to the recruitment process,” said McAlister. “Our approach is to become a trusted partner, whose services extend beyond basic candidate placement to support the organisational development of our clients and the professional development of our candidates.

“We have built a reputation for integrity and professionalism and would never misrepresent the salary expectations of any candidate, as happened with 43 per cent of the respondents to our survey. High standards have to be maintained and through organisations such as the National Recruitment Federation, Clarion Resourcing is committed to doing that,” he said.

Poor interview preparation

Half of all respondents do not get external help when preparing a CV or resume. This is surprisingly high and consistent with results in 2011, when 49 per cent said this was the case. Just 28 per cent said they practice interview techniques with a colleague or friend. On the positive side, 70 per cent of interviewees prepare for competency-type questions in advance. This compares favourably with 65 per cent in 2011.

The survey was carried out online, through a combination of online advertising and email communications, during the month of December 2012 and almost 3,000 IT and project management professionals were invited to participate. This is the second iteration of our research into the IT employment market.

About Clarion ResourcingClarion Resourcing is a high-quality, specialist recruitment company, providing a range of services including contingent or spot resourcing, permanent placement and executive search. The service is supported by the knowledge base of Clarion Consulting, also part of the Clarion group of companies, and specialises in short-term or long-term assignments for business and IT professionals. For more information, see www.clarionresourcing.com

Clarion Resourcing is part of the Clarion group of companies, with offices in Ireland and U.K. For more information, see www.clarionresourcing.com